Christine Baranski Says the Mamma Mia! Cast Would ‘All Go Out Together’ Every Night While Filming (Exclusive)

• Speaking with PEOPLE at the opening of The Picture of Dorian Gray on March 27, Christine Baranski reminisced about the “wonderful” time the cast of Mamma Mia! had while filming the musical movies
• The actress says the cast would “all go out together” every night
• Baranski remained coy when asked about the possibility of a third Mamma Mia! installment

The movie version of Mamma Mia! wasn’t just delightful for audiences — it also was “wonderful” to make behind the scenes, according to Christine Baranski.

Baranski, 72, caught up with PEOPLE while attending opening night of The Picture of Dorian Gray at the Music Box Theatre in New York City on Thursday, March 27. During the conversation, the actress, who played Tanya in the 2008 musical comedy and reprised her role for the 2018 sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, revealed that the cast would go out together “every night” while filming.

When asked about her favorite on-set memories, Baranski says, “All of it. All of it. I mean, every night, and when we’d finish filming, we’d all go out together. We would have the most wonderful time. It’s the most wonderful group of people. We would all do it again because it was just a love affair.”

The Gilded Age actress was coy, however, when asked about the possibility of a third installment.

“I don’t know about it. Whenever you say it, it goes viral and everybody gets crazy, but until [producer] Judy [Craymer] really has a script and has a shooting schedule and all of that, it’s a little cruel to get people excited about it when it’s so far. It’s just an idea that everybody wishes would happen,” she says.

Baranski previously shared that she had heard an initial “narrative” plotline for a new film while speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published in August 2024.

“I was in London with Judy Craymer at our favorite watering hole. She is planning Mamma Mia 3. She gave me the narrative plotline of how it’s going to happen. That’s all I can say!” she told the outlet at the time.

The actress also explained that Craymer, 67, is the type of producer who “makes things happen” instead of saying that she “[wishes] it could happen.” 

The first Mamma Mia!, which is based on the ABBA-inspired stage show of the same name, follows Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) as she attempts to find the identity of her father — which her mother (Meryl Streep) has kept a secret. 

The film — which also stars Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård — grossed more than $610,000,000, per Box Office Mojo, and was a critical success. The sequel, which was released a decade later, brought in even more famous faces, including Lily James and Cher.

As with Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, a potential third installment in the franchise would require a brand-new script and concept as it would not be based on an already-existing stage show.

When it comes to current projects, Baranski — who has performed on Broadway in the past — tells PEOPLE she’s eager to do live theater.

“I’m not at liberty to talk about it yet, but I’m dying to get back on the boards,” she shared at Dorian Gray, which stars Succession’s Sarah Snook. “I’m sure I’ll be pea green with envy watching Sarah just commanding the stage. It’s such a marvelous art form. I’m glad people still love going to the theater. There’s nothing like it.”